Railway-crossing.



PATENTED SEPT. 19, 1905.

- Al HLLINGER. RAILWAY CROSSING.

APPLIoArIoN FILED rms. 16.1905.

Witnesses NHED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RAILWAY-CROSSING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedlSept. 19, 1905. l

Application filed February 16, 1905. Serial No. 245,934.

T0 all whom it may con/cern.-

Be it known that I, ANDREW HOLLINGER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Canton, in the county of Stark and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Railway-Crossing, of which the following is a specification.

rlhis invention relates to railway-crossings, and has for its object to improve such structures particularly for the purpose of obviating frogs and for producing continuous rails in each direction of the crossing, therebyavoiding the pounding of the wheels commonly incident at crossings, which is injurious both to the track and to the wheels.

Another object of the invention is to provide novel mechanism for shifting certain of the rail-sections of the crossing and to effect locking of these rail-sections in their opposite positions,-so as to prevent displacement thereof by the jarring movements occasioned by a passing train.

With these and other objects in View the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, shown in the accom panying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a plan view of a railway-crossing embodying the features of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional View on the line 2 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional View taken horizontally through a pair of adjacent movable rail-sections to show the manner of locking the same.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in each and every figure of the drawings.

To illustrate the construction and operation of the present invention, there have been shown in the accompanying drawings a pair of rails l of a track running in one direction and rails 2 of a track crossing the first-mentioned track, and while thesetwo tracks have been shown as intersecting at something other than a right angle it will of course be understood that the angle of intersection of the two tracks is immaterial and in nowise affects the invention. The continuation of each rail between the rails of the other track is the same for all of the rails, and therefore a description of one set of rail extensions is deemed. suflicient.

Beneath the overlapped substantially parallel extensible rail-sections 3 and 4there is a bed-plate 5,upon which the sections are adapted to slide in an endwise direction, the railsection 3 being held in place by means of the bed-plate being cleft transversely and then bent up around the adjacent edge of the base of the rail-sections, as at 6, as best indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. It will of course be understood that the overhanging flange portions 6 are formed in the original casting of the bed-plate. The shiftable rail-section 4 is longer than the section 3, with a laterallyoiset portion 4a overlapping the rail 3, the

latter being scarfed, as at 7, to fit snugly against the inclined portion 8, between the main portion and the oifset portion 4SL of the rail-section 4, whereby the scarfed portion of the rail-section 3 is adapted to fit the rail 4 With reasonable snugness, so as to form a continuous rail. At that end of the rail-section 4 which is opposite the offset portion 4 the bed-plate is bent into an upstanding flange or shoulder 9, bearing against the adjacent edge of the base or rail, whereby the rail may be fitted in a tilted position across the top of the flange 9 or engage beneath the overhanging flange 6, so as to secure the rail to the bed-plate without spikes or other extraneous fastenings. It will here be explained that the flanges 6 and 9 prevent any material lateral play of the rail-section 4, while at the same time the rail is capable of being shifted in an endwise direction.4 At the offset end portion 4 of the rail 4 there is an upstanding flange l0, which instead of being parallel with the rail-section is set at an inclination thereto, and the adjacent edge of the base of the rail-section is cut to produce an inclinedor cam edge 1l, working against the flange 10, whereby the offset end portion 4a of the rail 4 is shifted laterally when the rail-section is moved in an endwise direction, there being a slight space between the rail-section 3 and the offset portion 4L when the rail-sections are drawn together to enable the slight lateral movement of the offset end portion 4", so as to preserve a tight joint between the scarfed end7 of the rail-section 3 and the rail-section 4. This lateral movement of the yoffset end portion 4a of the rail-section 4 is in reality a swinging movement upon the opposite end of the rail as a center, there'being sufficient looseness of said other end of the IOO IIO

rail between the flanges 6 and 9 to permit of the required lateral shifting movements of the offset end of the rail-section.

The mechanism for simultaneously shifting the rail-sections 3 and 4 endwise in opposite directions consists of a rock-shaft 12, mounted transversely beneath the rail-sections l3 and 4 in substantial parallelism with and between the rails of the other track and terminating at one end in a weighted crank-arm 13. This rock-shaft carries two pairs of eccentrics, one of which has been shown at 14 in Fig. 2, there being one pair for each set of shiftable railsections with the members of each pair lying at opposite sides of the rail. Each rail is provided with an eccentric box or strap 15, rigidly carried by one side thereofl and of inverted substantially U shape, the inner face of the box being provided with a suitable lining 16 to engage the periphery of the eccentric, and there being a cross-bar, preferably a bolt 17, connecting the lower ends of the eccentric-box. By manipulation of the weighted crank-arm 13 the rock-shaft 12 may be rotated in either direction, thereby to turn the eccentrics within the eccentric-boxes, and consequently move the shiftable rail-sections 3 and 4 endwise across the bed-plate, so as to project them into engagement with the main rails of the track, as indicated for the track 2, to produce continuons rails for this track at the crossing and to draw together the shiftable rail-sections, so as to separate their outer ends from the track, as indicated by the shiftable rail-sections of the track 1, and thereby provide the necessary room for the passage of Wheel flanges without interference by the other track. 1t will of course be understood that the eccentrics for each pair of shiftable rail-sections are reversely disposed in order that the rotation of the rock-bar 12 in one direction may properly move the rail-sections simultaneously in opposite directions.

In addition to shifting the rail-sections it is also proposed to lock the same against accidental movements, and this is accomplished by means of locking mechanism consisting of a rocking cross-head 18, fulcrumed intermediate of its ends, as at 19, upon the bed of the track, there being rods or bolt members 20 pivotally connected to the cross-head at opposite sides of its fulcrum and extending away from the cross-head at substantially right angles thereto, the outer free end of each boltk working in an opening 21 formed through the web of the shiftable rail-section 3 and capable of alternate engagement with separate openings 22 and 23 in the offset portion 41 of the rail 4. This cross-head is operated by a connecting-rod 24, and the bolt 20 always remains in the opening 21 and has a movement suliicient only to withdraw the bolt from one of the openings in the rail 4, and the endwise movement of the latter being regulated to aline one or the other of the openings 22 and 23 with the opening 21, thereby to insure a positive locking of the rail-sections at their opposite limits, and thus preventing the railsections from being jarred out of place by the action of passing trains.

If desired, each track may be provided with derailing means consisting of a pivotal railsection 25, which is actuated by a rod 26, having an eccentric-strap 27, engaging a cam 28 upon the rock-bar 12 of the other track, the rod or bar being connected at its opposite end to a bell-crank lever 29, which is connected to the pivotal rail-section 25. The connection between the pivotal rail-section 25 and the rock-bar is so arranged that when the track 2 is continuous and the track 1 interrupted the pivotal rail-section 25 will be in its normal position in longitudinal alinement with the rail 2; but when the other track 1 is continuous and the track 2 interrupted the derailing rail-section 25 will be moved laterally inward, so as to bein the path of wheel-flanges, and 'thereby derail the train before reaching the crossing.

A very important advantage of the present invention resides in the overlapping of the endwise-shiftable rail-sections, so as to brace the rail-section 3 by the offset portion 4L of the rail-section 4 when the two sections are spread to form a continuous track.

Having fully described the invention, what is claimed is- 1. A railway-crossing including endwiseshiftable rail-sections having beveled meeting portions, one of the sections havinga laterally-offset terminal lying at the outer side of the other section and operating as a brace therefor.

2. A railway-crossing having endwise-slidable rail-sections, one of the sections having a scarfed inner end, the other section having a laterally offset portion overlapping the scarfed section and forming a brace therefor, said other section having an inclined portion betweenthe main portion of the rail and its offset portion with the scarfed terminal of the ijrst-mentioned section working in conjunction with the beveled portion to form a close joint between the sections.

3. A railway-crossing having endvvise-slidable rail-sections, one of the sections being scarfed at its inner end, the other section having a laterally-offset portion lying at one side of the scarfed section to constitute a brace therefor, said other section having an inclined portion against which the scarfed terminal of the first-mentioned section works, the offset portion of said other rail-section having a lateral movement to bring the same into engagement with the scarfed section when the sections are spread and to move away'from the scarfed section when the sections are drawn together.

4. A railway-crossingincluding a bed member having an overhanging iiange at one side IOO IIO

and an upstanding ange at the other side, and endwisemovable rail-sections having their bases supported upon the bed between the upstanding and overhanging anges, each rail-section capable of being tilted for engagement and disengagement with respect to the overhanging iange. i

5. A railway-crossing comprising a bed member having an overhanging Hange at one side and an upstanding iange at the opposite side ot' the bed-plate and set at an angle to the longitudinal axis thereof, and a pair of overlapped endwise-movable railsections mounted upon the bed-plate between the anges and having a scarfed joint, the railsection which is next to the inclined Hange having an inclined portion working against the inclined iange to shift said section laterally during its endwise movement.

6. A railway-crossing having endwise-shiftable rail-sections which are overlapped to form a continuous joint, each section having an eccentric-box, and a rock-shaft having reversely-disposed eccentrics working in the respective eccentric-boxes.

'i'. A railway-crossing having overlapped endwise-shiftable rail-sections to form a continuous joint, and means to lock the rail-seetions at their opposite limits.

8. A railway-crossing having endwise-shiftable rail-sections which are overlapped to form a continuous joint, one ot' the rail-sections having an opening and the other provided with two openings for alternate alinement with the opening of the iirst-mentioned section, and a locking-bolt working in the opening of said iirst-mentioned section for alternate engagement with the openings of the other section to interlock the two sections at their opposite limits.

9. A railway-crossing having a pair of endwise-shiftable rail-sections which are overlapped to form a continuous joint, one of the sections having an opening and the other section having a pair of openings for alternate alinement with the opening of the first-mentioned section, a pivotal cross-head, a lockingbolt loosely connected to the cross-head and working in the single opening of the firstmentioned rail-section and capable of alternate engagement with the openings of the other section to lock the two sections at their opposite limits, and means forswinging the cross-head to actuate the bolt.

10. A railway -crossing having endwiseshiftable rail-sections to form continuations of the rails of cach track, each pair of shiftable rail-sections being overlapped to form a continuous joint, and means to lock one set of rail-sections when extended to form a continuous track and to lock the other set of rail-sections when drawn together.

l1. A railwaycrossing having opposite pairs of end wise-shiftable rail-sections which are overlapped to form continu/ous joints, an intermediately-fulcrumed cross-head mounted between the two sets of rail-sections, bolts pivotally connectedA t0 the cross-head at opposite sides of its fulcrum and extending in opposite directions therefrom with their outer ends working in openings in adjacent railsections, the respective other rail-sections being provided with pairs of openings for the alternate reception of the bolts to lock the rail-sections at their opposite limits.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ANDREW HOLLINGER.

Witnesses:

J. DAILEY, MAUD QUINN. 

